The first bit of pressure in the election campaign has been applied and the two leaders are showing what they're made of. Scott Morrison is facing questions about his tax cuts for the wealthiest Australians. Bill Shorten is under fire over the cost of his plan to tackle climate change. Two fault lines running through Australia's political debate - what to do about inequality and the climate - are already at the forefront of the campaign. The prime minister argues his long-term tax plan gives people more of their own money back, and that allows them to spend and invigorate the economy. But the coalition is refusing to talk about how much the richest Australians will benefit from the plan to abolish one tax bracket and reduce another from 32.5 per cent to 30 per cent. Labor says high earners will get $11,000 a year off their tax, but low-income earners will only get $11 a week. "The Labor Party is running around trying to say this is for people on high incomes. No, it's for people earning as little as $45,000 a year," Morrison told reporters in Tasmania. But he's resisted external attempts to examine the impacts of his tax changes, getting personal in his attacks. He dismissed modelling from the Australia Institute by calling the progressive think tank "left-wing activists". And earlier in the week the prime minister also dumped on modelling from the centrist Grattan Institute, describing it as "absolute, complete rubbish" while Finance Minister Mathias Cormann labelled it a Labor lie and questioned the think tank's independence. Shorten's plan to focus on Labor's ambitious policy roll out lasted six days. He had one bad press conference in which he misunderstood a question about superannuation changes and then refused to say how much Labor's climate policy would explicitly cost. The fallout on those two stories meant Labor lost a couple of days in the news cycle while Shorten was on the back foot. So on Thursday in Darwin he tried a different tack, getting on the front foot to attack the coalition's "malicious and stupid" climate modelling. "In climate change, there will never be enough figures to satisfy the climate sceptics," he told reporters. "If you don't believe in the science of climate change, no amount of evidence will ever convince you because, fundamentally, it's a stupid position not to take action." Labor is under pressure from the right and the left on climate change. It is Groundhog Day yet again. While the Labor organisation has been rolling out attack ads focusing on Peter Dutton and reminding Victorians which of their local MPs supported his leadership bid, the leader has been persistently speaking about health and the party's $2.3 billion cancer package. On the other side, Morrison can barely go two sentences without mentioning his opponent. He has repeatedly said Shorten lies, labelled him "sneaky and tricky" and reminded people that if they vote for him they'll get him as prime minister and if they vote for Shorten, they'll get Shorten. Even given the opportunity to be statesman-like when AAP asked about his vision for the country over the next three years, he couldn't resist taking a dig at the hit to small business he says Labor's agenda will impose. But with school holidays around the nation and the imminent Easter break - when the campaigning will slow to a snail's pace and major party advertising will be paused - it's hard to know whether anyone's listening to the messages from either side yet. The pressure will only get stronger as the electoral rolls close, the full list of candidates is made known and early voting begins. Australian Associated Press

Leaders facing pressure in first week

The first week of election campaigning sees party leaders pushed to defend their polices.

The first bit of pressure in the election campaign has been applied and the two leaders are showing what they're made of.

Scott Morrison is facing questions about his tax cuts for the wealthiest Australians.

Bill Shorten is under fire over the cost of his plan to tackle climate change.

Two fault lines running through Australia's political debate - what to do about inequality and the climate - are already at the forefront of the campaign.

The prime minister argues his long-term tax plan gives people more of their own money back, and that allows them to spend and invigorate the economy.

But the coalition is refusing to talk about how much the richest Australians will benefit from the plan to abolish one tax bracket and reduce another from 32.5 per cent to 30 per cent.

Labor says high earners will get $11,000 a year off their tax, but low-income earners will only get $11 a week.

"The Labor Party is running around trying to say this is for people on high incomes. No, it's for people earning as little as $45,000 a year," Morrison told reporters in Tasmania.

But he's resisted external attempts to examine the impacts of his tax changes, getting personal in his attacks.

He dismissed modelling from the Australia Institute by calling the progressive think tank "left-wing activists".

And earlier in the week the prime minister also dumped on modelling from the centrist Grattan Institute, describing it as "absolute, complete rubbish" while Finance Minister Mathias Cormann labelled it a Labor lie and questioned the think tank's independence.

Shorten's plan to focus on Labor's ambitious policy roll out lasted six days.

He had one bad press conference in which he misunderstood a question about superannuation changes and then refused to say how much Labor's climate policy would explicitly cost.

The fallout on those two stories meant Labor lost a couple of days in the news cycle while Shorten was on the back foot.

So on Thursday in Darwin he tried a different tack, getting on the front foot to attack the coalition's "malicious and stupid" climate modelling.

"In climate change, there will never be enough figures to satisfy the climate sceptics," he told reporters.

"If you don't believe in the science of climate change, no amount of evidence will ever convince you because, fundamentally, it's a stupid position not to take action."

Labor is under pressure from the right and the left on climate change. It is Groundhog Day yet again.

While the Labor organisation has been rolling out attack ads focusing on Peter Dutton and reminding Victorians which of their local MPs supported his leadership bid, the leader has been persistently speaking about health and the party's $2.3 billion cancer package.

On the other side, Morrison can barely go two sentences without mentioning his opponent.

He has repeatedly said Shorten lies, labelled him "sneaky and tricky" and reminded people that if they vote for him they'll get him as prime minister and if they vote for Shorten, they'll get Shorten.

Even given the opportunity to be statesman-like when AAP asked about his vision for the country over the next three years, he couldn't resist taking a dig at the hit to small business he says Labor's agenda will impose.

But with school holidays around the nation and the imminent Easter break - when the campaigning will slow to a snail's pace and major party advertising will be paused - it's hard to know whether anyone's listening to the messages from either side yet.

The pressure will only get stronger as the electoral rolls close, the full list of candidates is made known and early voting begins.